Category: Installation

In any venture, it’s the commitment and contribution of the people that make things happen. The AICI SFBA Chapter has been an example of commitment and contribution from its inception, as the founding Chapter of AICI.

Two awards were given at this year’s annual Installation event that recognize significant member commitment and contribution over the past year to the Chapter: Chapter Rising Star and Chapter Member of the Year.

Rising Star

Our 2015-2015 Rising Star is incoming-President Carol Parker Walsh. a well-deserving recipient of the award. The Rising Star award is given to a Chapter member who has been a member for four years or less, and has provided significant contribution to the Chapter as a new member.

Carol joined our chapter November 14, 2014; seven months later she volunteered to be Co-VP of Education (not a position for the faint of heart!) She thought of creative and new ideas for the Board to try and also volunteered to get them done. She lives out-of-state which could have created some challenges, but never seemed to affect her. And, now she has volunteered to step up into this year’s Chapter President position.

In addition, Carol is a #1 Best Selling Author, and has had guest appearances on CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX channels. She is one of 20 licensed Fashion Feng Shui practitioners in the US, writes a monthly column for a Business Journal, and is a trained classical singer.

Member of the Year

The Chapter Member of the Year award is given to a member who has acted above and beyond in their capacity as a Chapter member, has been an inspiration to others, and has achieved extraordinary results in AICI.

Our 2015-2016 Chapter Member of the Year is Elena Daciuk, a 5-year member of the Chapter and Board of Directors. In fact, Elena was attending Chapter events even before becoming a member.

She has been truly dedicated, passionate, and very hard working during her years of service, always willing to go the extra mile in everything she does. Elena has held a strong belief in this organization and what it can offer its members.

This past year she not only held one position on the Chapter Board, but THREE of them: Treasurer, Co-VP of Programs, Immediate Past President.

Elena’s business is Styling Fabulous. Congratulations to our Chapter Member of the Year – Elena Daciuk!

This is the time of year we thank our out-going Board of Directors for their year of service and, in turn, welcome in the new Board for 2016-2017. This year’s installation of officers took place at Jasper’s restaurant in San Francisco. We also gave special recognition to our Chapter Member of the Year, Elena Daciuk, and our Rising Star, incoming-President Carol Parker Walsh. (We’ll tell you more info about these two deserving award recipients in an upcoming post.)

Forget about green with envy…we went green with style at the 2015 Installation event on June 23. Chapter members and guests enjoyed socializing and snacks (and yes, champagne), as well as checking out the great gift bags from Bloomingdale’s (thanks to Board member, Carolyn Rovner, for putting the goodie bags together.)

Out-going President, Elena Daciuk, thanked her Board for their hard work during the year, as well as the membership for supporting our events and Education Conference. In particular, she recognized Board members Marjory DeRoeck and Carolyn Woodworth for serving 12 years as Co-VP’s of our fabulous Education Conference. (Marj and Carolyn were also recognized earlier this year at our Education Conference; watch a short video here.) Thanks Marj and Carolyn for your dedication through the years!

The new Board was then officially installed by Marj, and 2015-2016 President, Danean Gallaher, presented Out-going President, Elena Daciuk, with a thank-you for all her hard work during the year, followed by sharing with us her thoughts about and goals for the coming year. With all of our help and participation, it should be a great year ahead!

New Board members for 2015-2016 are: Co-VP’s Education Conference – Connie Bozant and Carol Parker Walsh; Secretary – Wendy Shindler. Thanks, ladies, for stepping forward and volunteering to help lead our Chapter! The full 2015-2016 Board listing, along with contact information, can be found here.

We enjoyed hearing from our delightful guest speaker, Madison McClintock, about how she takes unwanted, discarded or damaged clothing and accessories and turns them back into things of beauty. Madison brought a rack of clothing she has repurposed and described her thought and design process for how she reimagined some of the items. Members of the audience presented their ‘problem’ items and Madison gave some very interesting ideas as to how she would rework them. We’re all looking forward to seeing the finished products! If you have items needing ‘rescue’, you can reach Madison here.

Thanks to all who came and enjoyed the evening, and a special thanks to Installation event Chairman Carrie LaShell for organizing the evening for us. We’re looking forward to a wonderful new year for our Chapter!

We know that ‘green’ fashion is a hot topic these days. Fast fashion is under fire, and certainly we, as image professionals, are dealing with the effects of the ‘oversupplied’ closet on a regular basis. Since one of the solutions we encourage for our clients is disposing of those items that no longer serve them well, we’re especially looking forward to the upcoming program at our Installation event on June 23.

Go Green with StyleReuse, Reinvent & Redesign Your Wardrobe

Madison Jo McClintock, CEO of MJM Artwear, will show us her “reawesomization” process – turning what might have been a discarded or ‘unusable’ item into something fresh and revitalized. AND…attendees will be asked to bring an item they would to get “reawesomized” and hear first-hand how Madison would do it.

MJM Artwear is a culmination of everything Madison has learned not only about art but also about life and the world. By taking all of her creative talent and passion and applying it to reusing and recycling items, she developed MJM Artwear. MJM Artwear is more than a clothing line and more than a clothing brand…it is a new way to see beauty in all things. That nothing is trash and that everything can grow and be made into something more extraordinary than it was before. MJM Artwear includes custom silkscreened clothing of all kinds for women and men, custom hand painted shoes, hats, bags and soon, accessories.

Bring a friend or two (along with your items that need some re-awesomization) and enjoy an evening of food, wine and education on how you can go green with style. We’ll also install our fabulous 2015 Board of Directors when we’re through playing with fashion.

Mariann Layne, owner of Mariann Layne Image and Fashion Consulting, is passionate about helping people find their unique style as well as understanding how to dress so that they feel happy inside and ultimately radiate this beauty on the outside. She believes that feeling good about yourself is a key ingredient to being happy in life. She specializes in style assessments, closet audits, outfit creation, and personal shopping.

She is a certified Universal Style Consultant and has studied with some of the foremost experts in the field of image consulting. She is also a Carlisle Consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Napa Valley.

What You Might Not Know About Mariann:

Mariann’s first career was as a Speech Pathologist and she holds an Master’s Degree in that field. She then changed careers and spent 25 years working in corporate America as the senior staff member of corporate and marketing communications. She holds an MBA in marketing. Mariann loves to travel and last November spent two weeks in Italy during which time she and her husband went truffle hunting and enjoyed the cuisine that incorporates truffles and mushrooms which are two specialties of that season.

Adena DiTonno has been a Chapter member for four years and has served on the Board for two years as Treasurer, as President in 2012-2013, and is this year’s VP of Marketing/Social Media/Website. Her business is adenaDesigns in Redwood City CA, with a focus on helping women define and integrate their personal style into their wardrobes, so they can feel confident they are making the most of themselves every day. As a former product marketing and advertising executive, she also helps other image consultants with their marketing needs.

What You Might Not Know About Adena:

Adena was born in Roswell, New Mexico and raised on a wheat farm in Kansas. She loves to golf, read and play the piano, and absolutely adores her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Bucky.

Carrie LaShell is our Immediate Past President, after serving one year as President, a year as President-Elect and two years as Co-VP of Programs. Since Carrie has been a member for almost 6 years, she obviously jumped right in and began contributing from virtually day one. She believes that AICI has been an invaluable resource for her as she embarks on her sixth year as an image consultant. Her successful business, Such Savvy Style, specializes in educating women on their very best style, color and make-up. She loves watching her clients transform and gain self confidence.

What you might not know about Carrie:

​Mr. Ruggles and Penelope are her two mini shih tzus. She has lived in 8 states across the country including Hawaii. This is the third business she has owned (Curves and The Purse Party Diva being the first two.) She loves to ski in the winter and be on the water in the summer.

Carolyn is the owner of C2 Style, a style consultation and personal shopping service, since 2001. She encourages her clients to project with confidence their unique personal style through their wardrobe. Carolyn has served previously on the Board as VP Programs in 2008-2009.

What You Might Not Know About Carolyn:

Carolyn is from Grosse Pointe, Michigan and has lived in the Bay Area since 1986. She graduated from Arizona State University, and enjoyed a career in the hospitality industry in San Francisco before raising her 3 children. Carolyn loves to travel, going to the theater and playing tennis.

Carolyn Woodworth AICI FLC has worked in the image industry for 15 years. Her company is Design & Style at The Image Studio located in Lafayette, CA. Carolyn has held various Chapter Board positions, including Co-President, as well as serving as Co-VP of Education Conference since 2004.

What You Might Not Know About Carolyn:

​In her early 20′s Carolyn danced with a USO troupe who were sent all over northern California, putting on shows in the various Army, Navy and Air Force bases. My husband at the time was also in the troupe, playing professional trumpet.

Marjory is owner of All About Image at The Image Studio in Lafayette,CA. In her studio boutique she offers color and style analysis, makeup application, accessorizing and wardrobing with the Carlisle Collection. She has previously served in a number of capacities on the Board, including Secretary, Co-President and President. For the past several years she has served as Co-VP of Education Conference. Last year Marjory was honored at the AICI International Conference in Arizona as our Chapter Member of the Year.

What You Might Not Know About Marjory:

Marjory attended the San Francisco School of Ballet for two summers when she was a teenager. She was “Miss Yreka” for the Dunsmuir Railroad Days when she was in high school (although she didn’t win, the winner went on to be in the Miss California pageant.) Marjory sewed all her clothes in high school and college (in fact, her graduation present from high school was a Singer Sewing Machine.) After college she taught physical education and modern dance for six years in a high school on Long Island, NY.